Raymond Dingledine Explained

Raymond Dingledine
Birth Date:17 December 1948
Birth Place:Celina, Ohio, U.S.
Known For:Glutamate receptor biology; neuroinflammation
Field:Neuroscience, Neurology
Work Institutions:Emory University School of Medicine
Children:2, including Roger

Raymond J Dingledine (born December 17, 1948) is an American pharmacologist and neurobiologist who has made considerable contributions to the field of epilepsy. He serves as Professor in the School of Medicine at Emory University, Atlanta GA, where he chaired the pharmacology department for 25 years and served as Executive Associate Dean of Research for 10 years.[1]

Education

Dingledine grew up in St. Marys, Ohio, a small town bordering Grand Lake St. Marys. He graduated from Michigan State University with a B.S. in biochemistry in 1971, and from Stanford University with a PhD in pharmacology in 1975. His PhD training was under Avram Goldstein. He then did postdoctoral stints with John Kelly and Leslie Iversen in Cambridge UK, and Per Andersen in Oslo Norway. It was in Per’s lab, working with Leif Gjerstad and Iver Langmoen, that he developed a lifelong interest in epilepsy.

Career

Dingledine joined the Department of Pharmacology at the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill in 1978 as an Assistant Professor, rising to full Professor by 1989. Shortly after a sabbatical year at the Salk Institute in Steve Heinemann’s lab, he joined Emory University in 1992 as Chair of the Department of Pharmacology, a job he held until 2017. He also served as Executive Associate Dean of Research in the School of Medicine from 2004-2005 and 2008–2015.

He has served in professional science-intensive organizations throughout his career. He served on the Program Advisory Committee of the Morehouse School of Medicine Neuroscience Institute from its inception in 1997 through 2021, chairing this committee for 14 years. He served the Society for Neuroscience in numerous functions including Treasurer in 2003 and, most recently, as Chair of their Investment Committee for 15 years. At the American Epilepsy Society he chaired the Epilepsy Benchmark Stewards from 2017-2018. From 1995 to 2000, he served as editor-in-chief of Molecular Pharmacology, a major journal sponsored by the American Society for Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics. Dingledine co-founded two small pharma companies. NeurOp Inc was founded in 2003 and is currently a clinical-stage company focused on developing NMDA receptor modulators for cerebral ischemia, pain and depression. He serves on NeurOp’s Board of Directors and Scientific Advisory Board.[2] Pyrefin Inc was founded in 2019 to develop novel anti-inflammatory drugs to combat cognitive decline and post-operative pain; he chairs Pyrefin’s Board of Directors.[3] He is an inventor of record for 10 awarded US patents.

Research and work

His early research focused on the modulation of glutamate receptor-mediated synaptic transmission.[4] During this period he and his team discovered that glycine is a coagonist rather than modulator of NMDA receptors,[5] that shrinkage of extracellular space mediates the transition between interictal and ictal states in the high potassium model of seizures,[6] [7] that a single amino acid residue controls calcium permeation in glutamate receptor channels,[8] and that ifenprodil analogs inhibit NMDA receptors by increasing the sensitivity of receptors to proton inhibition.[9] His current research focuses on the myriad roles of neuroinflammation in neurologic disorders.[10] He demonstrated a profound role for EP2 receptor activation by prostaglandin E2 in COX-2 related pathologies.[11] His work highlights the importance of neuroinflammation in epilepsy.

Awards and honors

Dingledine was elected to the US National Academy of Medicine in 2010,[12] the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters in 2018,[13] and the National Academy of Inventors in 2022.[14] He was elected as a Fellow of the American Association for Advancement of Science in 2003, and a Fellow of the American Society for Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics in 2020.[15] His early career was profiled in Nature Medicine in 2002.[16] He received the Bristol-Myers Squibb Neuroscience Award in 1989 and again in 1993, the epilepsy basic research award from the American Epilepsy Society in 1995, a Javits Neuroscience Award from the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke in 1998, the PhRMA Foundation Career Award in Excellence in 1999, and the Robert R Ruffolo Career Achievement Award from the American Society of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics in 2018.[17] One endowed prizes have been established in his name, the Ray Dingledine Award for Extraordinary Graduate Achievement in 2018.[18]

Personal life

Dingledine has two sons, Brian and Roger.

Publications

Selected papers

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Faculty Highlight Emory School of Medicine . med.emory.edu . 4 January 2023.
  2. Web site: Board of Directors . NeurOp Inc. . 4 January 2023.
  3. Web site: Kesselring . AuthorLinda . Faculty as Start-up Founder: One Man's Experience . Emory Technology Transfer Blog . 4 January 2023 . 10 February 2020.
  4. Traynelis . Stephen F. . Wollmuth . Lonnie P. . McBain . Chris J. . Menniti . Frank S. . Vance . Katie M. . Ogden . Kevin K. . Hansen . Kasper B. . Yuan . Hongjie . Myers . Scott J. . Dingledine . Ray . Glutamate Receptor Ion Channels: Structure, Regulation, and Function . Pharmacological Reviews . September 2010 . 62 . 3 . 405–496 . 10.1124/pr.109.002451. 20716669 . 2964903 .
  5. Kleckner . Nancy W. . Dingledine . Raymond . Requirement for Glycine in Activation of NMDA-Receptors Expressed in Xenopus Oocytes . Science . 12 August 1988 . 241 . 4867 . 835–837 . 10.1126/science.2841759. 2841759 . 1988Sci...241..835K .
  6. Traynelis . S. F. . Dingledine . R. . Role of extracellular space in hyperosmotic suppression of potassium-induced electrographic seizures . Journal of Neurophysiology . 1 May 1989 . 61 . 5 . 927–938 . 10.1152/jn.1989.61.5.927. 2723735 .
  7. Traynelis . S. F. . Dingledine . R. . Potassium-induced spontaneous electrographic seizures in the rat hippocampal slice . Journal of Neurophysiology . 1 January 1988 . 59 . 1 . 259–276 . 10.1152/jn.1988.59.1.259. 3343603 .
  8. Hume . R. . Dingledine . R. . Heinemann . S. . Identification of a site in glutamate receptor subunits that controls calcium permeability . Science . 30 August 1991 . 253 . 5023 . 1028–1031 . 10.1126/science.1653450. 1653450 . 1991Sci...253.1028H . 37111624 .
  9. Mott . David D. . Doherty . James J. . Zhang . Sunan . Washburn . Mark S. . Fendley . Morris J. . Lyuboslavsky . Polina . Traynelis . Stephen F. . Dingledine . Raymond . Phenylethanolamines inhibit NMDA receptors by enhancing proton inhibition . Nature Neuroscience . December 1998 . 1 . 8 . 659–667 . 10.1038/3661. 10196581 . 2883094 .
  10. Vezzani . Annamaria . Friedman . Alon . Dingledine . Raymond J. . The role of inflammation in epileptogenesis . Neuropharmacology . June 2013 . 69 . 16–24 . 10.1016/j.neuropharm.2012.04.004. 22521336 . 3447120 .
  11. Jiang . Jianxiong . Dingledine . Ray . Prostaglandin receptor EP2 in the crosshairs of anti-inflammation, anti-cancer, and neuroprotection . Trends in Pharmacological Sciences . July 2013 . 34 . 7 . 413–423 . 10.1016/j.tips.2013.05.003. 23796953 . 4031445 .
  12. Web site: Pharmacology chair elected to the Institute of Medicine . www.emory.edu . 4 January 2023.
  13. Web site: 2018 Institute of Basic Sciences - Throne Holst Symposium - Inflammation and Epilepsy – Psychology of Science . Faculty of Medicine . University of Oslo . 2018 . 4 January 2023.
  14. Web site: Emory researchers recognized for their spirit of innovation Emory University Atlanta GA . news.emory.edu . 4 January 2023 . en.
  15. Web site: 2020 Fellows Bios . Default . 4 January 2023 . en.
  16. Birmingham . Karen . Ray Dingledine . Nature Medicine . 772 . en . 10.1038/nm0802-772 . 1 August 2002. 8 . 8 . 12152023 . 6731617 . free .
  17. Web site: Raymond Dingledine awarded national pharmacology career achievement award Emory University Atlanta GA . news.emory.edu . 27 December 2022 . en.
  18. Web site: News from the Office of Development and Alumni Relations . GDBBS Alumni Newsletter . 4 January 2023.